The trans-siberian railway

VOCABULARY

UNIT 3

I. TEXT
THE BEGINNING OF RAILWAY CONSTRUCTION IN RUSSIA

The beginning of railway construction in Russia may be traced as far back as the second half of the XVIII century. Road building was closely connected with the development of mining industry.

Among the numerous works built in the Urals at that time, the most important and the best equipped ones were the Voskresensk Works. It was at those works that the first tram-ways in Russia were laid to link the mines and the works. K.D.Frolov, a highly qualified and talented engineer, took part in the construction of those industrial tracks.

The next, very important step forward was the use of cast-iron rails, proposed by A.S.Yartsev, manager of the Petrozavodsk Works. In 1788, a 173.5 m long track was constructed to meet the needs of the works.

In 1809, another line, using cast-iron rails, was laid in the Altai Mountains by R.K.Frolov, a son of K.D.Frolov. The line was 1,867 m long and its technical equipment was much superior to that of all railways built in Russia at that time. R.K.Frolov used elliptical rails and was the first engineer who applied the graphic method of timing train movements.

A very significant innovation, which promoted the development of Russian Railways, was the introduction of steam traction. The first steam-powered locomotive in our country was built by the Cherepanovs, father and son, the most skilled and talented mechanics of their time. Thanks to their invention, the first railway in Russia, using steam traction was put into operation at the Nizhni Tagil Metallurgical Plant in 1833. It was a short distance line covering only 854 m.

Some 4 years later, in October 1837, the first public railway St.Petersburg -Pavlovsk, was laid and opened to traffic. It was a 6 ft gauge line, 27 km long, built by Franz Anton Ritter von Gerstner. Locomotives were supplied by Stephenson and Hackworth Company, England.

The most significant event in the history of Russian Railways was the construction of the StPetersburg - Moscow Railroad, 644 km long. The line was begun in 1843 and was 8 years under construction: it was opened to traffic in November 1851. It was the first railway in Russia to adopt a 5 ft gauge (now the standard). The StPetersburg – Moscow Railway was a first-class double-track line, which connected the largest industrial and cultural centers of the country. 185 bridges and 19 viaducts were built along the track to make it as straight and level as possible. PP.Melnikov and N.O.Kraft, both prominent Russian engineers, were in charge of the construction.

After the end of the Crimean War in 1856, railway construction in Russia was developing very rapidly. Many new railroads were laid in the distant parts of the country. The first Asiatic line, in the Caucasus, more than 300 km long, was opened in 1872. The connection between the Black and the Caspian Seas had been completed by 1885, when the Trans-Caspian Railway was built. A really great event for the development of Russian economy was the beginning of the Trans-Siberian Railway.

By the end of the XIX century, more than 30,000 km of railway tracks had been laid across the vast Russian territory.

By 1913, the railway network of the country included 25 state lines and 13 private tracks, belonging to different companies.

Although the Russian Railway System was the largest in Europe, it was inadequate to the great territory and did not meet the growing demands of the country’s national economy.

1. mining industry – горнодобывающая промышленность

2. works – завод, мастерские

3. equipment – оборудование

technical ~ – техническое ~

4. train movement – движение поезда

graphic method of timing ~ – график расписания ~

5. locomotive – локомотив

steam-powered ~ – паровой ~

6. rails – рельсы

elliptical ~ – эллиптические ~

7. track – путь

straight ~ – прямой (без кривых) ~

level ~ – ровный (без уклонов) ~

8. gauge – колея

standard ~ – стандартная ~

9. bridge – мост

10. viaduct – виадук

11. national economy -национальная экономика

12. professions – профессии

manager – управляющий

engineer – инженер

mechanic – механик

designer – проектировщик

inventor – изобретатель

scientist – ученый

railwayman – железнодорожник

13. qualified – квалифицированный

14. talented – талантливый

15. skilled – умелый

16. distant – отдаленный

17. vast – обширный

18. private – частный

19. to trace back – проследить

20. needs (demands) – требования (запросы)

to meet the ~ – выполнять ~

21. traffic – движение

to open to ~ – открыть для ~

22. construction – строительство

to be under ~ – находиться в стадии ~

23. to be in charge of – руководить, отвечать за

Ex.1. Complete the following sentences, using the suitable words given below. Each word should be used only once.

significant qualified technical superior vast

elliptical cultural largest angular important

numerous skilled prominent steam-powered double-track

talented private first-class state industrial

1.... industrial tracks were built in the Urals in the XVIII – XIX centuries.

2. K.D.Frolov, a highly... engineer, contributed much to the construction of the first Russian railways.

3.... equipment of the Altai Works was much... to that used on all other railways of that time.

4. R.K.Frolov was the first Russian engineer who used... rails instead of... ones.

5. The first... locomotive in Russia was built by the Cherepanovs for the Nizhni Tagil Railway in 1833.

6. The Cherepanovs were very... mechanics.

7. The St.Petersburg – Pavlovsk Railway was designed by a... engineer Franz Anton Ritter von Gerstner.

8. The opening of the St.Petersburg – Moscow Railway in 1851, was the most... event of the time.

9. It was the...... line, having connected the... and the most...... and... centers of the country.

10. P.P.Melnikov and N.O.Kraft, both... Russian engineers, headed the construction.

11. By the end of the XIX century, more than 30,000 km of railroad tracks had crossed the... territory of Russia from the east to the west and from the south to the north.

12. 25... lines and 13... tracks constituted the railway network of Russia of that period.

Ex.2. Write questions to the underlined parts of the sentences. Discuss the text with the students of your English group.

The Trans-Siberian Railroad was the first railroad built across Siberia, the vast area that makes up most of the Asian part of Russia. When completed, it became the longest railroad of the world, extending over 5,000 miles (8,000 km) from Yekaterinburg in the Ural Mountains to Vladivostok, east of China. It was originally called the Great Siberian Railroad. Today, a train called the Trans-Siberian Express travels from Moscow to Vladivostok in 6 days. It runs from Moscow to Yekaterinburg, where it joins the original Trans-Siberian Railroad line. The whole route with minor gaps has been electrified.

Construction of the Trans-Siberian Line marked the beginning of a new era in the history of Siberia. Industries and trade began to develop rapidly, and the population grew.

During World War I (1914 – 1918) and World War II (1939 – 1945), the line was used to transport troops and supplies across the vast territory of Russia.

The Trans-Siberian Railroad was built in several sections. The land had been investigated and surveyed; and construction started in 1891 and was finished in1916. The section in the Far East, between Vladivostok and Khabarovsk, was completed about 1897. From 1892 to 1912, other sections were being built across western and central Siberia.

Between 1897 and 1903, Russia built the Chinese Eastern Railway across Manchuria, in northeast China. That railroad connected Vladivostok with the sections of the Trans-Siberian Railroad in western and central Siberia. By 1904, a continuous railroad stretched from Vladivostok across China and Siberia to the Ural Mountains.

But the country needed a railroad route that did not cross the territory of China. Therefore, a line north of China, from Khabarovsk to Kuenga, was constructed.

Completed in 1916, it became the last link in a continuous railroad route on Russian land between Vladivostok and the Ural Mountains. Another railroad led from the Urals west to the capital of the country, Moscow. Since the 1920's, the Trans-Siberian Railway line has been joined to the other railroads in the region.

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